Featured Domains

Company will take control of the domain name before transferring it to the new owner with optional service.

Escrow.com has launched a new service called Concierge Transfer, in which Escrow.com the will take control of the domain name to complete the transfer.

Similar to how Sedo handles most domain name transfers, the seller will transfer the domain name to Escrow.com’s account at the registrar, and then Escrow.com will transfer the domain name to the buyer when payment is secured.

This eliminates concerns about a seller merely changing the whois and saying the domain was transferred, and also eliminates the inspection period.

A lot of people have been requesting this feature from Escrow.com, even though I’ve never heard of someone losing money from the usual direct-transfer escrow service the company offers. Now customers will have a chance to put their money where their mouth is on wanting this option: as an optional feature, customers will see the cost of this secure transfer as a line item. I’m curious if people will actually pay for it when it’s optional.

Escrow with Concierge Transfer doubles the cost of escrow. On a $5,000 transaction, that’s an added $162.50 in fees. On a $50,000 transaction, it’s $445.00.

A competing escrow service, which has since closed, charged a fixed fee rather than a percentage to handle escrow transfers in this manner.

Here’s a comparison of domain name escrow services based on price – but price shouldn’t be the only thing you consider.

There are a lot of options when it comes to domain name escrow. Naturally, price is a variable when selecting an escrow service. So I put together a simple chart that compares prices of 7 escrow services at different transaction values.

The prices make a few assumptions:

1. You’re in the U.S. and the transaction is in U.S. Dollars.
2. You accept the cheapest option for funding the transaction and the cheapest for receiving your funds, but receive the funds in a single payment.
3. Your bank doesn’t charge you a wire fee.

I’m a bit hesitant to publish this price list because I truly believe price isn’t the only thing you should consider for an escrow transaction. In fact, it’s not the first thing. You need to consider all of the company’s policies, how it will resolve disputes, licensing, customer service, ease of use, privacy…the list goes on and on.

Agreed.com
Transaction fee: 3% of sales price up to $5,000, $150 plus 0.25% of the amount over $5,000 for transactions up to $25,000, and flat 0.85% for transactions over $25,000.
Funding charges: all funding options are free except for credit card. Credit card fee is 3% with $5,000 limit.
Withdrawal charges: no charge for U.S. mail check, mailing fees for expedited mail, $20 for domestic wire ($25 international) and $10 fee for first ACH; free after that.

eCop.com
Transaction fee: 2% of sales price plus $5 for each additional domain. Also handles “domain swaps” for $20.
Funding charges: $35 wire fee. Credit cards up to $1,000 ($3,000 for verified members) with 4% fee.
Withdrawal charges: $40 wire fee. Withdrawals up to $1,500 via PayPal for free, but if you pay yourself out over time for a sale there’s an additional $5 fee per withdrawal.

Escrow.com
Transaction fee: 3.25% of sales price up to $5,000 (with $25 minimum), $162.50 plus 0.26% of amount over $5000 for transactions up to $25,000, and flat 0.89% for transactions over $25,000.
Funding charges: Wires are free, credit card and PayPal up to $5,000 accepted on Premier Service level at additional charge, check/money order accepted on some transactions with $2,000 limit.
Withdrawal charges: Checks are free, mailing fees for expedited mail, $20 domestic wires and $40 international, and $10 fee for first ACH; free after that.

EscrowHill
Transaction fee: 2.5% of sales price up to $5,000 (with $50 minimum), $125 plus 0.25% of amount over $5k for transactions up to $25,000, and flat 0.70% for sales over $25,000. Premium escrow, which includes holding of domain, is $50 extra.
Funding charges: Free wires. Will accept additional funding options, including PayPal and credit card, in the future.
Withdrawal charges: Free wire.

(as a new service, it is still evaluating its funding/withdrawal charges)

Sedo
Transaction fee: 3% of sales price. If the domain is listed with Sedo, you have to pay full commission.
Funding charges: No fee on wires, credit card up to $500 with no charge, PayPal up to $5,000 with 3% fee if amount is over $500.
Withdrawal charges: Free wires, PayPal for up to $10,000 with no fee, ACH to US/CAN residents up to $20,000 with no fee, check for any amount to US/CAN residents with no fee.

Transpact.com
Transaction fee: £2.99/€3.49/$9.99 per party per transaction. Note ancillary fees.
Funding charges: No charges for funding. Most payments must be made direct by bank transfer.
Withdrawal charges: It’s complicated. There are fees based on value ranges, plus an additional $15 charge for U.S. payments.

Those of you at TRAFFIC in Florida last October will recall that I wore an Agreed t-shirt one day. This was because Ammar Kubba won a charity auction: For a $2,750 donation to The Water School, I agreed to wear an Agreed.com t-shirt for a day, and to post a write-up about the company on Domain Name Wire.

I asked Ammar what makes Agreed.com different than existing domain name escrow providers. Here’s what he had to say:

Let’s start with what we have in common with some of the current escrow providers… first and foremost, Agreed is in a very select group of only a handful of escrow providers licensed by the California Department of Business Oversight (“DBO”) to act as Internet escrow agents. Most of the other “escrow” providers are conducting business in a gray area of the law, and it’s just a matter of time before they’ll have to start complying. Like the other licensed escrow provider, Agreed is subject to significant government oversight and regulation. Agreed is independently audited on a regular basis, our employees are fingerprinted and legally required to pass extensive FBI background checks, and our Escrow Manager’s credentials and experience are reviewed and approved by the DBO to oversee escrows.

Now let’s talk about what sets us apart… in two words: User Experience. Agreed understands that transactions can quickly go south during the escrow process. Often times, this is a result of how the escrow is conducted and how the user interacts with the site. Agreed.com was designed to simplify and streamline the escrow process, and to keep our users fully informed of the escrow’s progress. We’ve also paid special attention to novice domain purchasers who have never conducted an online escrow transaction. Agreed’s unique user interface ensures that these users will enjoy assistance and guidance throughout the process, keeping them feeling comfortable, safe and secure, and always apprised of next steps.

User experience, however, is not measured solely by the ease of getting a simple task accomplished; it’s also measured by providing the features that the market needs and demands. Throughout our design and development cycle, Agreed sought the input of domain industry experts, from investors to brokers to consultants to marketplaces. These individuals provided invaluable feedback on, among other things, the complex transactions that they regularly encounter, and they all expressed their desire to have a platform that could handle such transactions without having to call in for set up or administration. Agreed heard this loud and clear, and we’ve built all of these features in to our platform. Financed transactions, lease transactions (with or without an option to purchase), and holding transactions, all with or without confidentiality, are a breeze to set up and administer on agreed.com. And Agreed’s responsive design ensures that our clients can easily set up, view and update their escrow transactions, anytime and anywhere, whether on a computer, smartphone or tablet.

Now that we’ve launched, we’ll be looking for and listening to your feedback. Over the coming weeks and months and beyond, we’ll continue to listen to your feedback, improve the platform, and add new features and functionality. Once you’ve had a chance to log in and explore, we’d love to hear your thoughts on Agreed and any new features or functionality that you’d like to see. Please email us at ideas(at)agreed.com.

Ammar Kubba and I sporting our Agreed t-shirts at the TRAFFIC conference in Ft. Lauderdale.

Thought Convergence, the company behind domain parking company TrafficZ and domain sales and parking platform Aftermarket.com, is getting ready to launch its own domain escrow service.

The company, which tends to pick high quality domains for its new products, has named the new service Agreed. Naturally, you can find it online at agreed.com.

Right now the site just has a basic “coming soon” page with this description:

Intuitive and robust escrow platform. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. Flexible payment and fulfillment options so that you can easily transfer money, domains, and websites, safely and securely. From quick and simple deals to complex financed or leased transactions, you’ll want to close the deal with Agreed.

The site also mentions that the service will be licensed.

The domain name escrow business is currently dominated by California based Escrow.com. Escrow.com is Aftermarket.com’s current escrow partner.